The High Court has quashed 10 cases filed against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia in various police stations including Darus Salam and Jatrabari in the capital on charges of arson.
A High Court bench comprising Justice AKM Asaduzzaman and Justice Syed Enayet Hossain gave the verdict on Wednesday (October 30).
Barrister Mahbub Uddin Khokon and Barrister Kaiser Kamal defended the case on behalf of Khaleda in the court. Senior lawyer Zainul Abedin, Advocate Gazi Kamrul Islam Sajal, Barrister Nasir Uddin Asim, Advocate Zakir Hossain, Advocate Siddique Ullah Mia were also present at the time.
Earlier, the same court quashed the sedition case filed against the BNP Chairperson over her negative comments on the number of martyrs during the Great Liberation War.
At the time, the court said that permission from the Home Ministry is required to file a sedition case against someone. The ministry did not have any permission to file this case.
In December 2015, a case was filed in the CMM court against BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia for her statement that there was a dispute over the number of martyrs in the Liberation War. The case was filed by Bangabandhu Foundation President Advocate Moshiur Malek on charges of slandering the state and supporting the abolition of state sovereignty under Section 123 (a) of the Bangladesh Penal Code.
The case was filed in the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Atiqur Rahman. After taking the plaintiff's statement, the judge said in his order that considering the seriousness and sensitivity of the incident, legal measures must be taken to investigate the truth of the complaint. However, permission from the government must be obtained before taking cognizance of the crime under Section 123 (a) of the Penal Code. Therefore, Shahbagh Police Station was instructed to investigate the complaint with an officer not below the rank of inspector and take legal action.
It is known from the charges in the case that on December 21, 2015, at a discussion meeting organized by the Jatiyatabadi Muktijoddha Dal at the Engineers Institution, Bangladesh, Khaleda Zia said, "He (Bangabandhu) did not want the independence of Bangladesh, he wanted to become the Prime Minister of Pakistan." Martyr President Ziaur Rahman declared independence. Today, it is said that there have been so many martyrs; there is a lot of controversy about this. Her statement was published in various national newspapers the next day. This statement mocks the martyrs of the Liberation War of Bangladesh and questions the contribution and role of Bangabandhu in the Liberation War. Therefore, it is a crime under Section 123(a) of the Penal Code.